Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

As different as pea soup and pudding, but go together like PB&J

Cookie and Broccoli: Ready for School by Bob McMahon

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This is the first in a new graphic novel series about one out-there cookie and one shy green vegetable. Cookie and Broccoli: Ready for School by Bob McMahon would be good for fans of Narwhal and Jelly books by Ben Clanton or Pizza and Taco by Stephen Shaskan. (And as a side note, I was informed Pizza and Taco was a big hit with a set of friends ranging from second grade to the 12-year-old). Cookie is happy, excited and ready for anything. Who cares […]

Gods, Goddesses, Mortals, Action!

The Red Pyramid book one of The Kane Chronicles by Orpheus Collar

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Rick Riordan is a popular author. I have not had the pleasure of reading his novels, but I have meet him once and have read two of his books adapted for the graphic novel format. The Red Pyramid book one of The Kane Chronicles was adapted by Orpheus Collar. And while it is a good story (we are following Egyptian mythology this time), it is also a slow story in places. It took me several days to finish it, as I was only able to […]

Dragons in the Sky

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

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There are two fantasy genre tropes that I could do without. First, the stagnation: the world has been in a rot for ages, even thousands of years with no progress at all. It was better then: the society of yore was wealthier, the people mightier, wiser, and had longer lifespans. (They probably had better dental hygiene, too, although this is pure speculation.) The current civilisation has lost a lot of the knowledge of magic and technology, especially the good guys; the bad ones seem to […]

Dreamy but Derivative (also CANNONBALL!)

And I Do Not Forgive You: Stories & Other Revenges by Amber Sparks

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These stories have been told before. Most are fairly clever fairy tales retold, some are veiled retellings of myth and history, and a few are sparkling new. They have been told before in the sense that they are retellings, but they have also been told before in the sense that other authors have done these before, and done them better. It was difficult to find the author’s voice; reading the collection felt less like one author’s work and more like an anthology of the who’s […]

Spooky Spelunking Ahoy!

Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch

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…but before we dig in, let’s celebrate a Pulp reference! Well, our victim had a thirst for knowledge,” said Stephanopoulos. “He was a student at St. Martins College. Ha! Delightful. This series is chock full of geeky innuendo. Come for a magical rollick through London, but stay for the myriad Harry Potter, Terry Pratchett, Dr. Who, and Tolkien references- just to name a few. Somehow, despite many references to the fantasy that came before and continues to ripple around the world of Rivers of London, this […]

When the London Met Crashes into Urban fantasy

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

Whispers Under Ground by Ben Aaronovitch

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Like every Dresden Files fan, I’ve been flailing around for ages with the lack of new releases. And with the announcement that the next two books will be out later this year my impatience has not gotten better, but worse! So  I recently started hunting around for something to keep me occupied. And I ended up landing on Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant novels. I wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with these – I had read a sample of Rivers of London a few years ago, but I […]



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